Which of these examples would be considered marital waste? Upon being asked for a divorce, a spouse goes on a spending spree, running up the balance on jointly held credit cards. Throughout the marriage, a spouse drinks to excess and gambles away the proceeds of an investment account held by the couple. A couple separates when one spouse learns the…
Divorce at any age is stressful, destabilizing and often economically difficult. But a divorce that comes after many years of marriage, at a time when most couples are thinking of retiring, is especially difficult emotionally and financially. In March of this year, a study from the National Center for Family Life and Marriage Research reported the divorce rate of couples…
The marital estate includes property, goods and debt accumulated by a couple during their marriage. In a New York divorce, those marital assets are divided equitably. But what happens to assets in the digital domain? As a resource for evidence of over-the-top spending and other unsavory behavior of opposing parties, Facebook and other social media can prove popular during a…
No-Fault does not mean that there are no longer adultery grounds in New York State. The adultery ground is alive and well but it is rarely used. Sexting, internet contact and dating sites, are all used most prevalently in custody battles. The custody battle: The Court will determine whether or not your children are exposed to any inappropriate behavior or…
In the electronic age, it is not just elected officials like Mr. Anthony Weiner who must be careful. Individuals going through divorce must be too. In the last three years there have been three major cases handled by Bryan L. Salamone & Associates, PC involving texting, sexting and the “cloud technologies”. As a general rule, we recommend that you do…
Rotating spheres of influence are usually done when there is joint decision making but the parents can’t decide equally on all decisions, because one parent has specific specialty or knowledge or interest in an area of decisions. For example, since the commencement of a divorce, one party has a specific religious zeal or passion that party may request that all…
Judges have stated, privately, that when it comes to custody disputes it is often difficult for them to really make decisions since they do not “live with the parties.” Their decisions are based on the testimony of the parties; character witnesses; witnesses that have been present during certain occurrences; together with opinions of experts, the recommendations of an attorney for…
It is illegal to prosecute a divorce based upon a contingency fee. Indeed, many times clients have told us, “Isn’t my husband responsible for our fees?” In some cases we hear, “Isn’t my wife responsible for my attorney fees?” Domestic Relations Law has been updated as of October 2010 and April 2011 and codified to include a statement that the…
For many people, divorce means the end of a relationship and limited future contact with a former spouse. However, for partners with children, a romantic relationship can end but parenting is forever. In recent years, technology has eased some of the anxiety and annoyance for former spouses and future co-parents. Working with clients throughout Long Island and New York, I…
In New York, the marital estate is subject to equitable division, that is, fair allocation of proceeds to both parties. The only assets divided during divorce are those that are known — so how do you know your entire marital estate is on the table when it comes time to divorce? Whether out of fear of not having enough money…